As someone who's dealt with Box 14 confusion for years, I'd recommend keeping a copy of your pay stubs alongside your W-2. The codes in Box 14 usually match up with deductions you see throughout the year on your paystubs, which can help you understand what each entry represents. For New Jersey specifically, those NJSUI/SDI and NJWFD codes are standard - every NJ employee will see these. The amounts should roughly match what you'd calculate using the percentages Ryan mentioned above. If there's a big discrepancy, that might be worth checking with your payroll department, but otherwise you're all set!

One thing I learned the hard way is to double-check that your employer coded everything correctly in Box 14. Last year my company accidentally put my parking benefits under the wrong code and it caused confusion when I was doing my taxes. Most of the time Box 14 entries are just informational like everyone said, but occasionally there might be something that affects your tax liability. For NJ specifically, those codes you mentioned are totally standard and won't impact your actual tax calculation - they're just showing what was already withheld. But it's always worth taking a few minutes to understand what each entry means, especially if you see any codes you don't recognize. Better to ask now than get surprised later!

I actually dealt with this exact scenario two years ago when I legally changed my name due to marriage but filed before updating my Social Security records. Here's what I learned: the IRS uses what they call "name control" matching, which is pretty forgiving for minor discrepancies. Since your SSN is correct and all your financial information matches, you're in good shape. The system will likely flag it for manual review, but that just means a human will look at it rather than it being automatically rejected. I ended up getting my refund about 3 weeks later than expected, and the only correspondence I received was a simple form letter asking me to verify the name change - no penalties or major issues. For your medical insurance verification concerns, most healthcare systems primarily use SSN for tax document matching anyway, so that shouldn't be a problem. If you want peace of mind, you can call the IRS taxpayer assistance line, but honestly, I'd just wait it out unless you start seeing unusual delays or receive specific correspondence asking for clarification.

I went through this exact situation last year after a legal name change following my divorce. Filed with my old married name by mistake even though I'd already updated my driver's license and bank accounts. Here's what actually happened: the IRS processed my return normally, just took about 2-3 weeks longer than usual. They matched everything by my SSN first, then flagged the name discrepancy for manual review. I received a CP 01A notice about 6 weeks later asking me to verify the name change - just had to mail back a copy of my divorce decree. No penalties, no major delays, and my refund came through fine. The insurance verification thing you mentioned shouldn't be an issue since most systems cross-reference primarily by SSN anyway. If you're really anxious about it, you can call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040, but honestly I'd recommend just waiting to see if they send you any correspondence. The fact that your SSN, address, and all financial info is correct works heavily in your favor - name mismatches from legitimate life changes are way more common than people think!

As someone who went through a very similar situation with my sister-in-law, I want to emphasize how important it is to act quickly but also be thorough with the documentation. She waited too long to start the amendment process and ended up losing out on refunds for one of the eligible years because the statute of limitations expired. One thing I haven't seen mentioned here is that your cousin should also review any retirement account contributions she made during those ITIN years. If she contributed to an IRA but couldn't claim the deduction because of her status, she might be able to amend those returns to claim the retirement savings contribution credit (Saver's Credit) now that she has an SSN and permanent resident status. Also, if she has children who were born in the US but she couldn't claim certain credits for them while using an ITIN, those children's SSNs should allow her to claim additional child-related credits retroactively. The key is making sure all the family members' Social Security numbers are properly documented in the amended returns. The process is definitely worth it - my sister-in-law recovered over $6,000 across three years, which made a huge difference for their family. Just be patient with the IRS processing times and keep detailed records of everything you submit!

Yes, you're absolutely right about the Child Tax Credit situation! Since her children already had SSNs, she should definitely be able to claim the full Child Tax Credit retroactively now that she has permanent resident status. The Additional Child Tax Credit (now called the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit) should also be available for those years where her tax liability was less than the full credit amount. Just make sure when she files the amended returns that she includes clear documentation showing her children's SSNs and their relationship to her (birth certificates work great for this). The IRS will want to verify that these are qualifying children who meet all the requirements. One more thing to consider - if any of her children were in college during those ITIN years and she paid tuition, she might also be able to claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit retroactively. This credit can be worth up to $2,500 per student per year and is partially refundable, so even if she didn't owe much tax, she could still get money back. The combination of EITC, Child Tax Credit, education credits, and potentially the Saver's Credit could really add up to a substantial refund across multiple years. Definitely worth the effort to get all the documentation together and file those amendments!

This is such a complex situation with so many variables! I went through something similar with a rental property donation two years ago. One thing I learned that might help - consider getting multiple appraisals if you're going the direct donation route. The IRS can be very picky about property valuations, especially for high-value donations like yours. Also, timing matters a lot. If you're planning to donate in December, make sure you have all your documentation ready well in advance. The charity needs time to process the donation and provide you with the proper acknowledgment forms before year-end. Another consideration - some charities have minimum property value requirements or geographic restrictions. I found that land conservancies and some religious organizations were more willing to accept real estate donations than smaller local charities. Given the complexity and the dollar amounts involved, I'd strongly recommend getting professional advice from both a tax attorney and a CPA who specializes in charitable giving. The depreciation recapture rules alone are tricky enough that you want to make sure you're calculating everything correctly.

One strategy that hasn't been mentioned yet is using a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) if you're looking to spread out the tax benefits and potentially avoid some of the depreciation recapture. With a CRT, you transfer the property to the trust, which then sells it and pays you an income stream for a specified period or your lifetime. You get an immediate charitable deduction for the present value of the remainder interest that will eventually go to charity. The key advantage is that the trust can sell the property without you personally recognizing the capital gains or depreciation recapture - those taxes are deferred and spread out over the payment period. However, CRTs are complex and expensive to set up, so they typically only make sense for higher-value properties or if you want the income stream feature. Another option to consider is a Charitable Lead Trust if you're more focused on estate planning benefits, though that's probably overkill for your situation. Given your numbers ($390K FMV, $130K depreciation), you're right at the threshold where these more sophisticated strategies might be worth exploring. I'd definitely recommend running the numbers on a CRT scenario before making your final decision.

This thread has been so helpful! I work in HR and deal with W2 questions constantly during tax season, and I'm definitely bookmarking this to share with employees who get confused about these boxes. One thing I'd add is that if you're still not sure after checking your state's unemployment wage base limit, you can always contact your payroll department. We keep records of exactly how much unemployment tax was paid on each employee's wages throughout the year, so we can quickly confirm whether Box 18 is correct. Also, for anyone wondering - this same concept applies to Social Security wages (Box 3) which caps out at $176,100 for 2025. So if you make more than that, you'll see Box 3 is lower than Box 1 for the same reason Box 18 might be lower than Box 16. Different tax programs, different wage caps!

This whole thread has been incredibly educational! I'm relatively new to understanding tax forms and was always intimidated by all the different boxes on my W2. Reading through everyone's explanations really helped me realize that these differences between boxes are actually normal parts of how our tax system works, not mysterious errors to panic about. What I found most helpful was learning that different boxes serve different purposes - some for income tax, some for unemployment insurance, some for Social Security. It makes so much more sense when you think about it as separate systems that each have their own rules and caps, rather than trying to figure out why all the numbers don't match up perfectly. I'm definitely going to save this thread for reference next year when I get my W2. And I'll probably check my state's Department of Labor website like someone suggested to know what to expect. Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge and experiences - this is exactly the kind of helpful community discussion that makes tax season a little less stressful!